Arizona officials claim that federal inaction required the state to crack down on illegal immigration. Does it have that power? Does a new state law provide needed protection or violate civil rights and interfere with federal authority over foreign policy? Also, the White House steps up involvement in oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and Europe's financial crisis and the US economy.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Arizona officials claim that federal inaction required the state to crack down on illegal immigration. Does it have that power? Does a new state law provide needed protection or violate civil rights and interfere with federal authority over foreign policy? Also, the White House steps up involvement in oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On Reporter's Notebook, Greece is in major trouble, and now the bonds of Spain and Portugal are being downgraded. What's happening to major markets for American exports?

Banner image: An undocumented Mexican immigrant reads a form detailing his rights while waiting to be deported from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), center on April 28, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is five times larger than recently thought, and is now only about a day away from the coastline. The Obama Administration today pledged an all-out response. Margaret Talev is White House correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers.

Efforts to close the border in Texas and California have pushed more illegal crossings to Arizona, creating high anxiety in the southern part of that state. After years of frustration, Arizona has enacted a tough new law that requires local police to detain anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. The law won't go into effect until this summer, but it's already ignited political fireworks from Washington to Mexico City. Two presidents and countless other officials are for and against the measure, but nobody expects any action from Congress in an election year. Today court challenges are being announced based on civil rights and the federal supremacy clause of the Constitution. With more than 10 million undocumented workers in the US already and more on the way, questions are being raised that have no easy answers.

On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's cut Greek bonds to “junk” status. Yesterday it cut the credit rating of Spain, which has a much larger economy. Portuguese debt was downgraded as well. With Europe a major market for American exports, recent uncertainty has led to some doomsday scenarios. Is Europe's banking system in trouble? Is the Euro losing its value? What will Europe's financial problems mean for the US? Newsweek and Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson is author of The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence.